The St. Elizabeths East campus in the southeast of the District of Columbia was once home to a psychiatric institution known for segregating patients and performing inhumane conversion therapy. It ultimately faced a lawsuit — settled in 2007 — for violating the rights of its patients.

Today the campus, at the intersection of Oak Drive and Sycamore Drive, is home to the aptly named Sycamore & Oak mixed-use community and business center. The development is being powered by a combination of renewable energy and newly trained local employees, literally and figuratively.

GRID Alternatives is a California-based nonprofit that installs solar panels in low-income communities. Developer Redbrick LMD tapped the organization to provide solar installation and workforce development at Sycamore & Oak. It finished work in October. The project trained a cohort of 10 local residents, most of whom are from Ward 8 where the project is located, for the installation through its workforce development program.

GRID’s Mid-Atlantic executive director, Jordan Taylor, said the project will help create an independent “micro grid” for the businesses operating out of the area.

The micro grid is a self-contained system that includes energy generation and consumption. Solar energy charges on-site solar panels during the day and in the evening, and the facility pulls power from the batteries, allowing the entire operation to function independently of the regional energy grid.

“There is a resiliency piece built into it,” Taylor said. “Ultimately the Black-owned businesses that are supported by Sycamore & Oak get to receive lower-cost power. It’s a compounding feedback loop that’s able to drive down costs for local businesses.”

Taylor, a Baltimore native, said he used to think solar energy was only for the wealthy, but now he wants to help bring the economically and environmentally favorable technology to those who could use it most.

“Solar is the cheapest form of energy generation. Renewable energy opportunities are overly abundant,” Taylor said. “With fuel-based energy, you constantly have to change where you’re locating and sourcing fuel. From the processing and consumption of energy, you’re emitting those into the local community, which is usually a low-income or disadvantaged community.”

As a new on-site renewable project, the DC Energy Conservation Code requires it to have net zero energy or net zero carbon compliance. This means there was virtually no impact on the environment during the installation and setup.

“On-site renewables are no longer [just] optional,” lead electrical engineer at Stantec Alex Haver said on LinkedIn. “They represent an opportunity to create more efficient, future-proof buildings that align with DC’s long-term sustainability goals.”

Taylor said that improvements in building science are not only better for the environment, but more cost-effective. These range from construction techniques to long-term energy usage over the lifetime of a building.

“We can build the same structure for 90% less energy consumption, both energy and water,” Taylor said. “That’s both a cost-savings measure, as well as an energy efficiency and ecologically friendly one.”

The benefits of developing with sustainability in mind compound, Taylor said. Having fewer emissions improves the air quality and lowers the risk of developing respiratory illnesses for residents living in and around these communities.

“There are all of these other knock-on effects that are positive when it comes to looking at things more holistically and being more in tune with the entire environment,” Taylor said.

As a National Historic Landmark, development on the campus was subject to heated debate between residents and preservationists. Cora Masters Barry, former wife of DC Mayor Marion Barry told the Washington Business Journal in 2024 that the campus “has been an eyesore on our community.”

Given the institution’s infamous legacy, some are open to putting something more positive in its place.

“This [redevelopment of the campus] is not a decision to erase history, but a commitment to the future that honors the lived experiences of our residents,” Masters Barry said.

Dion Dickens is a DC native and a member of the cohort trained for the Sycamore & Oak project. He calls the new development “something new and fresh for the community.”

“They’re giving the community more opportunities,” the construction assistant said. “It will just be up from here. A new start.”

While the Sycamore & Oak solar installation and grid build-out is complete, GRID will keep working in southeast DC as several other buildings on the campus are slated for deconstruction and development and will be added to the micro grid. A new local cohort will be trained and deployed for its installation as well.

Additionally, St. Elizabeths’ historic designation means that community involvement will be critical to determine what happens next.

“This [community involvement] gets good faith for the community members,” Taylor said. “It gives them the ability to participate in the growth and the rejuvenation of any area.”

“You have to include everybody in that, if we’re talking about progress,” Taylor said. “If certain people are left behind, then is that really progress?”

Taylor says that amid the uncertainty of federal employment in the region and the rise of artificial intelligence, workers are “having to pivot and find other opportunities.”

“One of the things that we will always need are jobs where you’re doing physical manipulation of something,” Taylor said. “It’s anything from traditional manual labor to technical specialized labor.”

He says AI snuck up the labor market, but with time and forward thinking, employers can avoid repeating “the mistakes of the past.” Renewable energy offers additional opportunities for local economies, outside of the job site, through localized grants, marketing and community partnerships. Educating residents on the financial and environmental benefits will be key.

“As we continue to develop, we should be more mindful, through building science and through newer technologies to reduce the impact that we have on the local ecology,” Taylor said. “As well as maximize the additional benefits for consumers.”

Jonathan Forney is a freelance journalist based in the District of Columbia.